Blog by Beebe Cline

Design Your Ideal Dining Room

Living rooms get a lot of attention, but a dining room that suits
your style and fits your needs can make each day a bit richer. So why
not give yours a little extra love? If you haven't been using your
dining room, it could be that setting it up properly will inspire you to
dine there more often. And if sit-down dinners don't match up with your
lifestyle, there are plenty of ways to design your room around another
passion so that it will see daily use.

Answering the five questions below should help spark ideas for your ultimate dining room design. Let's get started.

1. How much flexibility do you need? Consider how many people you need to seat for dinner every day and
how many would you like to be able to squeeze in occasionally. If you
need to adjust to different-size crowds frequently, it's important to
look for furniture that can stand up to the task. Think of dining tables
with extension leaves, and benches that can tuck against the wall until
needed.

If you serve a big crowd only once or twice a year, you
might prefer to go with a smaller table for everyday use — just pull out
a few folding card tables for holiday gatherings as needed.

Tip: Keep track of your ideas with an ideabook or a style file.
Be specific about what you love about each photo, and pay special
attention when the same feature comes up more than once. Keep a short
list of these key pieces handy during this process. For instance: modern
pedestal table, natural fiber rug, glossy black trim.

Tip: Work the walls. Put
that wall space around your dining table to work! If you need extra
seating, tuck a bench beneath a console. If craft space is what you
desire, tuck a cabinet against the wall and fill it with pretty baskets
of craft supplies. Or, if a library effect is what you are after, pile
up books on the buffet or line one wall with bookcases.

3. What level of formality do you crave?
This does not necessarily depend on how or how often you use the room —
it's more about personal style. You can have a dining room used for
special dinner parties that still manages to feel relaxed and casual ...
or a fancy room the whole family uses constantly.

If you have
your heart set on a formal dining room but don't want to constantly be
worried about damage, don't despair. You can hang a fancy chandelier,
put wallpaper above the chair rail and hang artwork, and none will be
within reach of little ones or furry friends.

Steal this style: With
symmetrically arranged lamps and chandeliers, a grid of artwork and a
set of Chinese Chippendale chairs, this room is a wonderful example of
how to work formal details into a livable space.

Make a few
concessions to practicality with a table that won't show every scratch
and fabrics that can stand up to a little abuse — washable natural
fibers, stain-resistant fabrics and outdoor fabrics would all hold up
exceptionally well.